Hospital Pole Clamps Currently Used
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,207; Danby succinctly wrote, “Prior clamps [used to attach a medical instrument device to a hospital pole] comprise a knob or handwheel which serves to drive a threaded shaft against a pole so as to provide, in conjunction with a pole gripping anvil, a friction connection between the pole and the pump. Modifications of this basic idea have been to use scissors or a lever to multiply the force applied by the threaded shaft to the pole or gripped member so as to improve the mechanical qualities of the clamp.
Prior clamps, however, suffer from the same flaw. These clamps require an equal amount of force to be applied to remove the clamp as was required to affix the clamp to the gripped member. In a hospital setting, wherein orderlies and nurses share the responsibilities of placing and removing pumps, this flaw comes to the fore. For example, consider the situation where an orderly affixes a pump to a pole. At a time subsequent to this installation, another person, having less strength than the orderly, wishes to remove the pump. However, to satisfy himself that the pump was firmly affixed to the pole, the orderly applied a great deal of torque to the knob. Since torque equals force times distance, the person wishing to remove the pump must supply at least as much force to the knob as the orderly did when installing the pump. For a more lightly muscled person this task may prove to be daunting or impossible.
This difficulty, repeated over and over, has an effect on the efficiency of the staff as well as providing a source of additional wear on the equipment, as tools are commonly employed to loosen these clamps.”
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,106; Rasmussen wrote, “A quick attach/release pole clamp is mounted on the side of a medical instrument case. A stationary clamp member is secured to the case and a movable clamp member slides in a slot oriented at a slight acute angle to the vertical, so that it moves toward and away from the stationary clamp member as it moves up and down the slot. A spring biases the movable clamp member toward the top of the slot so that the clamp is moved to the closed position. The user may support the instrument case in two hands while depressing the sliding clamp member to permit the clamp members to be positioned around a pole. When the pressure is released, the spring causes the clamp to close on the pole. A camming lever permits the user to provide positive latching of the clamp member from movement, and to engage an anti-rotation element with the pole. An interlock prohibits activation of the camming lever while the movable clamp member is being depressed.”
Rasmussen further confirms Danby's interpretation of clamps used to attach medical instrument devices on IV poles, when he wrote, “In the hospital environment, it is often necessary to provide medical instrumentation at the patient bedside. Many surgical patients, for example, are provided at least on a temporary basis with an intravenous fluid delivery setup for infusion of fluids to prevent dehydration, to preserve electrolyte balance, or to deliver antibiotics and other medication. Frequently, intravenous delivery is provided by a fluid infusion pump or a gravity controller, both of which are electromechanical instrumentation which must be situated near the patient.
Typically, the instrument cases of these and other instrumentation used in patient care are provided with clamps for engaging a portable pole so that the instrumentation may be secured on such a pole. The typical pole clamp is located on the back of the instrument case, and is activated by turning a threaded clamping member to close the clamp on the pole. To carry out this securement step, the nurse or other user must support the instrument case with one hand, while turning the clamp knob with the other hand to effect closure. Removal of the instrument likewise requires that the instrument be supported by one hand during the step of unscrewing the clamping knob to free the instrument from the pole. While such clamping arrangements have been in use for many years, they can be awkward and time-consuming to utilize.”
The medical instruments described and alluded to in the above-identified patents are small, essentially non-vibrational medical instruments. Examples of small, essentially non-vibrational medical instruments include and are not limited to a fluid warmer, a fluid infusion pump or a gravity controller. Those medical devices do not visibly vibrate or vibrate the hospital pole. Due to the lack of vibration, securing the medical instruments by a threaded shaft/gripping anvil embodiment, or a stationary/movable clamps embodiment is acceptable. It is known that the threaded shaft/gripping anvil embodiment and a stationary/movable clamps embodiment transfer any vibrational energy from the medical device to the hospital pole. Transferring vibrational energy to the hospital pole can be deleterious for reasons set forth below.